Global banks leery of Lebanon as crisis deepens
President Michel Aoun blames the central bank for the financial collapse and for stalling an audit that is key to unlocking foreign aid
08 April 2021 - 18:13
Beirut — Foreign lenders including HSBC and Wells Fargo are cutting ties with Lebanon's central bank, sources familiar with the matter say, underlining the country's international isolation as it reels from economic crisis.
In a letter to Lebanon's public prosecutor last week, governor Riad Salameh warned that foreign correspondent banks were starting to curtail their business relationships with the local financial system, while Wells Fargo had closed a central bank account in dollars, and HSBC had shut its British sterling account, according to three sources from the banking sector and the judiciary...
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